St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley
Cedar Road, Chorley, PR6 0JF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Annie Douglas
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 219
- URN
- 119671
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01257265998
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Chorley. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 219 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 32 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 80% | 69% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 13% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 87% | 91% | 94% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 84% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 81% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 80% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 207 |
| 2023/24 | 238 |
| 2024/25 | 236 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley ranked 96th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 4.4% | 29.9% | 219 | — |
| St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley | 62% | 5.5% | 27.3% | 289 | 0.2 miles |
| Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School | 71% | 3.5% | 16.1% | 201 | 0.5 miles |
| Highfield Community Primary School | 64% | 3.8% | 40.3% | 234 | 0.5 miles |
| Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School | 58% | 3.6% | 18.8% | 229 | 0.7 miles |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley | 67% | 5% | 19.9% | 157 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.86%
- English as an additional language
- 18.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.42%
- Persistent absence
- 8.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley0.2 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Highfield Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley0.9 miles
Primary · Chorley
Other schools in Chorley
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley ranks 8th of the 40 ranked primary schools in Chorley.
- Abbey Village Primary School Primary
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School Primary
- Buckshaw Primary School Primary
- Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit Primary
- Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Charnock Richard CofE Primary School Primary
- Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Chorley.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley is Mrs Annie Douglas, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley has 219 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley has capacity for 210 pupils and 219 on roll (104%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 80% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley ranked 96th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.